Iran’s Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is ready to negotiate, reports citing a conversation between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and U.S. intermediary Steve Witkoff, which was approved by the highest level in Iran.
Arab News, citing Israeli outlet Yedioth Ahronoth, reports that Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei was ready to negotiate with the US.
Earlier, the spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry had dismissed US President Donald Trump’s claims of talks with Iran, saying Tehran has had no negotiations with Washington over the past 24 days of the unprovoked US-Israel war against the Islamic Republic.
President Donald Trump announced Monday that the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global shipping chokepoint, will reopen “very soon” amid West Asia’s conflict, hinting at potential joint US-Iran management.
Speaking to reporters in Florida, Trump said that the strait will be “open very soon” if ongoing negotiations with Tehran continue successfully.
Trump said he and Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, would “jointly” control the vital shipping and energy artery.
“It’ll be jointly controlled. Me and the Ayatollah, whoever the Ayatollah is, whoever the next Ayatollah is,” the President added.
The Strait of Hormuz is a critical transit route that normally handles 15 million barrels per day of crude oil and 5 million barrels per day of oil products, representing roughly 25 per cent of global seaborne oil trade.
However, due to the conflict in the region, the waterway has been considered high-risk for transit, choking the global energy supply.
Trump also highlighted that the recent early strikes in the conflict had targeted much of Iran’s senior leadership, saying, “And there’ll also be a very serious form of regime change. There’s automatically a regime change,” and noted that talks over the weekend showed potential to reduce tensions.
Trump praised the negotiators as “very reasonable” and “very solid,” noting, “The people within know who they are, they’re very respected, and maybe one of them will be exactly what we’re looking for.”
Earlier, he directed the US Department of War to hold off on strikes against Iranian power plants and energy sites for five days, citing active diplomatic talks with Tehran amid rising West Asia tensions.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the United States and Iran had held “very good and productive conversations” over the past two days aimed at resolving hostilities in the region.
He added that the decision to pause strikes was based on the “tenor and tone” of the discussions, which he described as “in-depth, detailed, and constructive”. Trump further stated that the conversations will continue through the week.
The US-Israel-Iran conflict, now in its fourth week, ripples far beyond West Asia and the Gulf, stoking global energy security fears amid supply snarls and widespread damage to civilian, military, and energy infrastructure.
